Housing experiment set to create new benchmark
The renovation of this 100-year-old villa in the Auckland suburb of Ponsonby is part of the HRV Pure Invironment Project.
As part of the renovation, the villa will undergo a complete refit including the most advanced ventilation, heating and cooling systems from HRV.
The existing kitchen is being removed and the entire living space reconfigured to give it a more contemporary flow.
Like many homes around New Zealand, this house is cold, damp and hiding dangerous mould.
The aim of the HRV Pure Invironment Project, is to demonstrate how to create a healthy and liveable home with the most advanced ventilation, heating and cooling.
Real estate agent Antonia Baker from The Property Market is involved in the HRV Pure Invironment Project and in the first of an on-going series she looks at the history and reasoning behind the project.
There’s a homely feel mixed with the faint hint of a student flat as you walk through the front door of the old villa at 45 Lincoln St in Ponsonby.
Its creaky wooden floorboards, tatty window sills and dated but charming blue kitchen bench top, are typical of a 100-year-old New Zealand home that’s in need of a do-up.
And after a century’s worth of wear and tear, the well-loved house is getting a renovation with a difference.
Like many homes around New Zealand, this Auckland house is cold, damp and hiding dangerous mould. In the downstairs bedroom and living area, which will soon be transformed into a master bedroom and en suite, you can feel and smell the dampness.
The aim of the HRV Pure Invironment Project, which is being led by home solutions company HRV, is to demonstrate how to create a healthy and liveable home with the most advanced ventilation, heating and cooling. HRV’s new and innovative whole home water filtration system will also be installed to ensure the purest water is available from every tap.
The project is inspired by the fact that the condition of many New Zealand homes is far below the standards set by the World Health Organisation.
Owner Krista Strong, who lived in the house for more than a decade and has most recently been renting it out, had planned on undertaking a big renovation. However, following a conversation with HRV last year she jumped at the chance to have her house used in a unique renovation project that aims to set a new benchmark for the state of New Zealand homes.
Just as important to Krista is the new design layout and staying true to the heritage of the house, while adding a sophisticated and contemporary style to make it a beautiful and healthy family home. For her it’s all about the old and the new elements working together.
Once the house is finished it will be auctioned on Trade Me in early May.
So with only a tight, seven week time frame to complete the project, the team from New Dimension Construction have already demolished the kitchen and living area and framed up the new space ready to be lined.
In true Kiwi style, a number of household New Zealand brands are partnering with HRV on the HRV Pure Invironment Project with the new owner of the home getting a Toyota Prius c hybrid vehicle, as well as a special power package from Mercury Energy, and a special home loan interest rate from The Co-Operative Bank. For the renovation, insulation specialists Greenstuf is insulating ceilings, flooring, and external walls, Resene is supplying paint, LG is providing new kitchen, laundry and entertainment products, and EQC is also on board.
Coming up, a new roof will go on to replace the old rough and ready one and the team will move downstairs to prepare the space for the new master bedroom.
I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
